Olivia
What is he saying? One minute he’s telling me he loves me and then next he’s daring me to kill him.
He loves me?
I look into his dark eyes and see the truth of his words. He loves me. And God help me, I love him too.
I step back, uncomfortable having the barrel of my gun against his chest. I look over at Blackwood. "How do you know about my baby?" I haven’t told anyone about my pregnancy.
Blackwood's smile is menacing. "I make it my business to know everything about my agents, Olivia. Especially when they're compromised."
So he knew about me and Dom. Blackwood has been watching me. For how long? And how deep does his surveillance go?
"Your child will end up just like Rocco," Blackwood says, his voice dropping to something almost gentle. "Kidnapped, terrorized, always at risk. Is that what you want? To bring an innocent life into this world of violence?"
I can't breathe.
"You son of a bitch," Dom snarls, his eyes never leaving Blackwood. "You were behind Rocco's kidnapping."
Blackwood's expression doesn't change, but something shifts in his eyes. "You're desperate, Vitale. Making wild accusations won't save you."
"It wasn't just Rocco," Dom’s voice remains steady despite the two guns trained on him. "You've been playing us all for years. Setting family against family. And Olivia—" His eyes meet mine. "He killed your father."
The world tilts sideways. "What?"
"Your father was trying to expose him. He’s been stealing and skimming from seized assets for at least a decade."
"That's enough!" Blackwood's composed facade cracks. "Your father was nothing but a dirty cop. He didn’t want to expose me because he was some sort of hero. He was doing it because Aldo Vitale told him too."
The words don’t make any sense to me. It makes much more sense that my father was undercover to expose Vitale but then learned about Blackwood.
"You're lying.” God I hope he’s wrong.
"Am I?" Blackwood laughs. "Ask your boyfriend. The Vitales owned your father. That's why you've always been so determined to bring them down, isn't it? To redeem daddy's sins?"
I watch Dom's face harden as he looks past me to Blackwood.
Finally Dom turns his attention back to me. "Everything has just changed, sweetheart. You and I are both a liability. You might want me dead, but as soon as I am, he’ll kill you too. Just like he did to Michael here.”
The neurons in my brain are firing all at once but in different directions.
“He wanted you to find me here, and arrest me. And if you had, you might have been safe if you dropped the investigation into him. But now it’s too late. We all have to die. Isn’t that right, Blackwood?”
“You think you’re so smart, Vitale,” Blackwood sneers.
I need to stop this. “Why don’t you call the forensic team? I’ll hold Vitale here. We do this by the book.”
I maintain my aim at Dom, but my mind is working furiously, calculating angles and possibilities.
The warehouse suddenly feels like a chess board, and I'm running out of moves.
Blackwood studies me, his expression unreadable. "You sure you can handle this? Your... condition might affect your judgment."
"My condition makes me more determined to see justice done properly," I counter.
Dom remains perfectly still, his eyes never leaving mine. I wish I knew if I saw trust or resignation in them. I can’t take the time to decipher it now.
"The team can secure the scene while I process Vitale myself," I continue. "I've been building this case for years. I deserve to be the one who brings him in."
Blackwood takes a step closer, and I feel rather than see his posture shift. "You've always been thorough, Ricci," he says finally. "But I think we can handle this ourselves. Less paperwork that way."
My stomach tightens. It's confirmation of what Dom just said. He has no intention of letting either of us leave alive.
"Of course," I say, my mind racing ahead. I shift my weight slightly. My free hand moves casually toward my back pocket where my phone sits. If I can just activate the recording...
Blackwood's smile stretches thin across his face. "That's clever, Olivia. Really. But I think we both know there's a simpler solution."
He turns his gun toward me in one fluid motion.
“No. Mother fucker no.” Dom starts to move toward him, but Blackwood points his gun toward my head.
"You know, I always thought you'd go far. Smart, determined, moral to a fault. That last part was your downfall."
My throat constricts as I stare down the barrel of his weapon. My own gun remains pointed at Dom, my arm locked in position by training.
"Victor," I say, fighting to keep my voice steady, "think about what you're doing. Three bodies instead of one? How will you explain that?"
"I won't have to." He shrugs. "Vitale killed our undercover agent. You walked in on it. There was a shootout. Tragic, really. You'll get a nice funeral with full honors."
My baby. Our baby. This isn't just my life at stake.
"You won't get away with this," I say, but I know he will. After all, he has for years.
"I've gotten away with far worse for far longer," Blackwood replies.
Time seems to stretch and contract. I see Dom's muscles tensing, ready to move. I see Blackwood's finger tightening on the trigger.
I see the future I might have had, a child, a life beyond the FBI, perhaps even love, slipping away.
My heartbeat thunders in my ears. One beat. Another. Each one possibly my last.
The warehouse erupts with the deafening crack of a gunshot.